Jackson Lee helps Houston family fight deportation

Houston couple Rose Ascencio-Escobar, a U.S. citizen, and her husband, Jose Escobar, are fighting to keep Jose in the country and have appealed to U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee for help, KHOU-TV (Channel 11) is reporting:

Jose Escobar came to the U.S. from El Salvador with his mom when he was 14. His mom had, and still maintains, Temporary Protected Status and is allowed to live and work in the United States. Rose said the family wrongly assumed that TPS status would extend to Jose Escobar even after he became an adult. She said because of bad legal advice Jose Escobar did not show up for a court-mandated hearing. As a result an order for his deportation was issued in February 2006.

Jose Escobar continued to work as a carpenter and handyman, maintained his legally issued Texas Drivers License and Social Security card, and bought a home in southwest Houston with Rose shortly after their son was born in 2009. On June 6 of this year immigration agents arrested him outside his home. He has been in the Joe Corley Detention Center in Conroe ever since, awaiting word on his pending deportation. …

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee is trying to intervene on the Escobar’s behalf. She has asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement to exercise discretion in the case. Jose Escobar is a Harris County homeowner, works and pays taxes, and does not have a criminal record.